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| Entrance |
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| Oak Hill Cemetery |
Oak
Hill Cemetery is located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. The cemetery was founded in 1875. Before that a tract of land near Wabash College was used as
the cemetery for the town. It went
by various names during the 1800’s including Crawfordville Cemetery,
Presbyterian Cemetery, Mills Cemetery, and the Town Cemetery. Many remains were
reportedly removed to Oak Hill Cemetery in the last quarter of the nineteenth
century. The Crawfordsville
Masonic Cemetery, founded in 1866, was acquired by Oak Hill Cemetery in 1997.
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| James Lee’s White Bronze |
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| Cemetery Grounds |
There
are over 8,000 interments in the cemetery including Indiana Governors, US
Congressmen, and the first boy born in Montgomery County, Indiana. James Lee was born on August 8,
1825. Lee served as Montgomery
County Commissioner from 1870 until December 1876. During his administration the current Montgomery County
Courthouse was built at a cost of $150,000. The building’s corner stone bears
Lee’s name. Lee died on April 28th,
1884 and rests with his wife Mary Ann, under a white bronze monument.
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| Inscription on Monument |
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| Nathaniel Willis & Daughter |
Crawfordsville
native, Nathaniel Parker Willis suffered a tragic death. He was born on August 21, 1868 and apprenticed for Bayliss Hanna,
publisher of the Crawfordsville Record before setting out as a salesman. His first wife died young and he
remarried several years later to Hattie Bell of Ladoga. They had one daughter,
Mary Frances Willis. Reports indicate the marriage was not a happy one. In fact, Hattie took Mary and ran away
shortly after they moved to Indianapolis.
Willis searched for his daughter until he discovered her living with
her mother and her new husband, W.Y. Ellis in Little Rock, Arkansas. Willis went to court in Little Rock to
secure permission to have his daughter visit him at his hotel there. On July 27, 1909 while in the Little
Rock courtroom, Willis was shot to death by W.Y. Ellis, his former wife’s
husband. During the Ellis trial it was shown that Willis had followed all legal
manners to secure his rights to visit with his daughter, and had devoted his
life to finding her. His stone
stands as a tribute to his dedication as a father.
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| Did Wabash Win? |
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| Ralph Wilson |
Ralph
Lee Wilson was only 20 years old when he died as the result of a tragic
accident. Wilson played on the
football team for Wabash College during the 1910 – 1911 season, his freshman
year. During the fourth game of
the season against Washington University in St. Louis, Wilson fractured his
skull during a tackle. When Wilson
regained consciousness he asked, “Did Wabash win?” He died the following Sunday. Wabash did win the game that day, 10 – 0, but the rest of
the season was cancelled. A memorial was created in honor of Wilson and hangs
on Hollett Stadium. On Wilson’s stone, the Wabash College pennant and his
immortal question – “Did Wabash
Win?” still tugs at your heart, over one hundred years later.
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| Mahlon Manson |
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| Manson’s Monument |
Civil
War Union Brigadier General Mahlon Dickerson Manson is buried at Oak Hill. Manson was severely wounded in the
Atlanta campaign. Unable to return to service, he resigned in December 1864. He served in the U.S. Congress from
1871 to 1873 and was Lieutenant Governor of Indiana from 1885 to 1886. He died
on February 4, 1895 in Crawfordsville.
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| Lew & Susan Wallace |
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| Lew Wallace |
General
Lewis ‘Lew’ Wallace and his wife Susan are buried here. Wallace was the 11th governor of New
Mexico Territory. He served as a
Major General for the Union Army in the Civil War, leading troops into the
Battle at Shiloh. After the assassination of President Lincoln, Wallace served
as the judge in the military trial of the Lincoln conspirators.
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| Lew Wallace Writing |
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| Wallace’s Novel |
Wallace
was also the author of one of the best selling novels of the 19th
century and what was considered the most influential Christian book of the
1800’s – Ben-Hur a Tale of the Christ (1880). This is the book
that several movies of the same name have been based on. Wallace died February 15, 1905 at the
age of 77.
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| Susan Wallace |
Susan
Wallace, the wife of Lew Wallace, was also a writer. Her writings were published in over thirty magazines,
journals and books of poetry during her lifetime. She also wrote and published six books: The Storied Sea (1883), Ginevra (1887), The Land of the Pueblos (1888), The Repose in Egypt (1888), Along the Bosphorus and Other Sketches (1898) and The City of the King (1903).
After Lew Wallace died, Susan completed his autobiography.
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| Tree Stone with Chair |
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| Tree Stone with Broken Branch |
History
is plentiful in Oak Hill Cemetery where countless city founders, movers and shaker
are buried. There are numerous
tree stones of varying detail.
Most with hand carved objects showing the interests and enjoyments of those
whose resting places they now mark.
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| White Bronze Monument |
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| Close up of Detailing on White Bronze |
White
bronze monuments are also abundant.
From small ‘stones’ to large, intricate monuments, the symbols and epitaphs are
easily readable, providing a glimpse into the lives of those resting here.
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| Oak Hill Cemetery |
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| Angel Statue |
Oak
Hill Cemetery is located at 392 West Oak Hill Road in Crawfordsville,
Indiana. The office is open Monday
through Friday. Jim Clouse is the Superintendent and Suzi Petrey is Office Manager. The phone number is (765) 362-6602. The cemetery does not have a web page
or Facebook page.
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| Egyptian Planter |
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| Guarding the Grave |
Plan
to spend an afternoon at Oak Hill Cemetery, strolling the rolling grounds
covered with towering oaks and maples.
This is a cemetery full of surprises, so take the time to wander among
the graves and look for those small details that can tell a lifetime of stories.
~ Joy
